SXMElections.com

Gracita Arrindell Candidate For Dutch Council Of State

St. Maarten –Drs. Gracita Arrindell is a candidate to fill the position for St. Maarten at the Council of State in The Hague, the former president of parliament confirmed to this newspaper on Saturday. The appointment has not yet been formally announced.

Arrindell would succeed Dennis Richardson who sat on the council until he was appointed minister of justice in the third Wescot-Williams cabinet in 2013 Read more

Integrity’s power grab

Dear Editor,

For many years now, the various governments in The Hague have had concerns and misgivings about the administration in Philipsburg, at least for as long as I can remember. In the nineties, we were placed under Higher Supervision with the collaboration of the then central government, and the same issues we had then are prevalent today. They even promised to implement a counterpart system, so that when they leave, our people could take over the running of the apparatus properly and smoothly Read more

Oyster Pond works attract inspections, warning letter

OYSTER POND--Excavation and clearance works that have included the pushing of excavated soil into Oyster Pond and the clearance of an estimated 100 square metres of mangroves have warranted inspection by the authorities and a warning letter calling for those responsible to either produce the relevant building permit or request one.

Further decisions will be taken after the building permit status becomes clear. The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI is looking into the situation Read more

Caravanserai owners unique amongst victims of takeover

BEACON HILL--A California couple who cashed in part of their retirement fund to invest in buying a unit at the former Caravanserai Beach Resort have been thrown into the same basket as approximately 2,200 timeshare owners who had their rights at the same property annulled when it was taken over by Alegria Real Estate BV. The couple received an eviction order earlier this month, after a trial of which they reportedly had not been informed took place.

Chasing ownership

John and Shandrea Degen signed the relevant paperwork with Caravanserai in 2007 Read more

New political party emerges with goal to be deal breaker

GEORGETOWN, Guyana--A new political party has emerged in Guyana with hopes of truly breaking away from an ethnic divide and providing a balance between Guyana's two main political parties – a united Alliance For Change (AFC)/A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the incumbent People's Progressive Party.

The Healing the Nation Theocracy Party (HTNTP) believes that it can rally the support of Guyanese at the upcoming May 11 polls by opening "your eyes to the poverty we are experiencing .. Read more

Editorial - No ifs, no buts

Concerns expressed by the Democratic Party (DP) parliamentarians in Tuesday's paper regarding a perceived lack of tourism marketing should not go unnoticed. As stated before, there is currently no representation in Europe and contracts for the all-important North American continent apparently expired.

The opposition members have a point when questioning why and how Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor is – as he stated – reorganising, reviewing and revisiting the already established St Read more

Government Launches Official Facebook Page

GREATBAY—The Government of St. Maarten has embraced social media by launching its Official Facebook page– “Government of Sint Maarten”– to the local populace and the rest of the world.

A government information service press release yesterday announced “The goal of the Government’s Facebook page is to gain wider exposure to a new demographic in the world of social media with information such as press releases, public notices, pictures and or videos of government related events Read more

>PHILIPSBURG (DCOMM):--- The Government has launched its Official Facebook page, entitled: "Government of Sint Maarten" to the public and the rest of the world.

The goal of the Government's Facebook page is to gain wider exposure to a new demographic in the world of social media with information such as press releases, public notices, pictures and or videos of government related events. This social media tool will make it easier for persons to have access to updated information from the Government of Sint Maarten which includes highlights of specific departments and their services

Through the Department of Communication (DCOMM) in its capacity as Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8) the Government aims to expand its reach to the public during times of emergencies and in preparation of any possible disasters Read more

Government Of Sint Maarten Launches Its Official Facebook Page

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten (DCOMM)- The Government has launched its Official Facebook page, entitled: "Government of Sint Maarten" to the public and the rest of the world.

The goal of the Government's Facebook page is to gain wider exposure to a new demographic in the world of social media with information such as press releases, public notices, pictures and or videos of government related events.

This social media tool will make it easier for persons to have access to updated information from the Government of Sint Maarten which includes highlights of specific departments and their services

Through the Department of Communication (DCOMM) in its capacity as Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8) the Government aims to expand its reach to the public during times of emergencies and in preparation of any possible disasters.

Reaching the general public in a timely fashion as part of the emergency communication response is critical to avoid the possible loss of lives or unnecessary damage to property throughout the island.

"Having an official social media source for the country is important in this day and age Read more

Lawyer: ‘Patrick Illidge used influence to get things done’

PHILIPSBURG--Former Member of Parliament (MP) Patrick Illidge is not guilty of bribery but has only done his duty as an MP in “assisting citizens in their attempts and efforts to persuade ministers and civil servants to do what they are supposed to do,” lawyer Ralph Richardson said Thursday.

Together with Bada Bing night club owner Jaap van den Heuvel (49) Illidge (49) is the main suspect in a case of bribery in which Illidge allegedly accepted bribes for the total amount of US $150,000 between March 2011 and October 2012.

In exchange for the money, Illidge was to use his power and influence to favour the Bada Bing owner in ensuring the Ministry of Economic Affairs or other government agencies would grant an operational licence to the nightclub and seek a change in its official registered address from Maho Shopping Centre to Sr Read more

Illidge and Van den Heuvel face prison time in Bada Bing trial

PHILIPSBURG--The Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday requested 48 months against Bada Bing night club owner Jaap van den Heuvel and thirty months, ten of which are to be suspended, with two years' probation, for former independent Member of Parliament (MP) Patrick Illidge during the first day of hearings in the so-called "Orca" trial.

Van den Heuvel (49) and Illidge (49) are the main suspects in a case of bribery in which Illidge accepted bribes from Bada Bing and Lunteren NV's owner for the total amount of US $150,000 between March 2011 and October 2012.

In exchange for the money, Illidge was to use his power and influence to favour the Bada Bing owner in ensuring the Ministry of Economic Affairs would grant adapted permits to the nightclub and seek a change in its official registered address from Maho Shopping Centre to Sr Read more

‘Bada Bing’ trial kicks off today

PHILIPSBURG--The court hearings in the so-called "Orca" or "Bada Bing" case will be kicking off in the Court of First Instance today, Wednesday, at 9:00am. The case involves a number of alleged illegal practices in and concerning Bada Bing nightclub in Simpson Bay.

In the trial, former Member of Parliament Patrick Illidge (49) will be facing charges of accepting bribes from Bada Bing and Lunteren N.V Read more

D66, PvdA opposed on St Maarten intervention

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Labour Party PvdA and the democratic party D66 have contradicting views when it comes to the proposed intervention by the Kingdom Council of Ministers to tackle integrity violations in St. Maarten.

The PvdA is of the opinion that intervention by the Kingdom Government in the case of St. Maarten is merited because the country has offered insufficient redress to effectively deal with integrity violations in government.

PvdA Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar made this clear during a public debate in The Hague on Thursday evening, organised by the Committee Kingdom Relations and the Kingdom Youth Parliament.

Member of the Second Chamber Wassila Hachchi of D66 condemned the extreme measure of the Kingdom Council of Ministers to start the procedure to impose a General Measure of the Kingdom Government ("Algemene Maatregel van Rijksbestuur AMvRB") to establish an Integrity Chamber for St Read more